"Red Umbrella" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American Country music, country singer. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide ...

. The song was written by the

Warren Brothers The Warren Brothers are an American country music duo composed of brothers Brett Warren (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, mandolin, piano) and Brad Warren (background vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar). The duo has released three ...

Aimee Mayo Aimee Mayo (born September 28, 1971) is an American author and songwriter from Gadsden. She has written songs recorded by artists such as Tim McGraw, Meghan Trainor, The Backstreet Boys, Billy Currington, and Kellie Pickler. She co-wrote the ...

, and

Chris Lindsey Christopher Marsh Lindsey is a Grammy nominated American country music songwriter and record producer. He has created major hits for Taylor Swift, The Civil Wars, Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Kellie Pickler, Keith Urban, Tim Mc ...

and produced by Hill and longtime collaborator

Byron Gallimore Byron Gallimore (born in Puryear, Tennessee) is an American record producer known for his work in the field of country music. He has worked with artists Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Sugarland, Lee Ann Womack, and Jo Dee Messina. Faith Hill's 1999 albu ...

. Hill debuted the song on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

'' in early September 2007, with Warner Bros. Nashville releasing it on September 13, 2007 as the second and final single from her first worldwide

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

, ''The Hits'' (2007). Receiving mostly mixed reviews, "Red Umbrella" became yet another top-forty hit for Hill, peaking at number 28 on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart and debuting at number 21 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart. The song was also a minor number 34 hit in Canada.

Content

"Red Umbrella" is an up-tempo song consisting of abstract imagery, in which the narrator explains that she will be all right despite the troubles in her life. She compares love to a "red umbrella" to cover her from the rain.

Critical reception

''Billboard'' gave Red Umbrella a positive review, saying "It's a positive love song that is uplifting and sweet, but doesn't venture too far into saccharine territory. And just when you'd think the world's songwriters might have run out of new ways to describe love, here's a fresh analogy: 'Your love is like a red umbrella/Walk the streets like Cinderella/Everyone can see it on my face.' Hill's performance is perfection."

Jim Malec Jim Malec is an American journalist and pop music critic known for writing about country music. Malec attended State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, where he worked as an editor for the college's student newspaper and was involved in a cen ...

of The 9513 gave the song a "thumbs down", saying "The song's verses blow by at breakneck pace, which is a good thing, considering the fact that 'Red Umbrella' has some of the most random and generally incogitative lyrics I've ever heard", although he did commend Hill's vocal performance and considered the chorus "catchy".

Chart performance

References

{{Faith Hill singles Songs written by Aimee Mayo Songs written by the Warren Brothers Songs written by Chris Lindsey 2007 songs Faith Hill songs 2007 singles Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore Warner Records singles